Dem
47
GOP
53
Today's remembrance is courtesy of J.D. in Cold Spring, MN:
Thank you for the reminiscences of M.S. in Canton, which led off this series. My own father served in the Navy during World War II and, like many of his generation, seldom spoke of his wartime experiences. I knew he was injured during the war, as he lived the rest of his life with a distinct limp and scar on his left knee. He died at a relatively young age and a major regret of my life is that I never asked him about those experiences.
When his youngest sister, and last remaining survivor of that generation of my family, passed away some years ago, I thought that I had lost the last direct link to his life. I then decided I needed to do something to honor his memory.
After a little digging, I learned that it was possible to obtain my father's military records from the National Archives. It turned out to be the greatest thing I could do to honor his memory. As I am sure that (Z) knows, such records were a treasure trove for an amateur historian. There is minutia, like the precise time he returned from shore-leave in Newport Rhode Island, and frustrating gaps (Where was he serving between the time his convoy left the states in late 1942 and the day he was injured, July 29, 1943?).
From this 2-inch-thick stack of photocopied pages, I was able to then go on and piece together a first draft of his military life. He served on a LCT (landing craft, tank) during the allied invasion of Sicily, ferrying the U.S. Seventh Army from Tunis to the beaches at Gela. I learned that while his ship came under machine-gun fire on the beach, his injury occurred back in Tunis, 2 weeks after the initial landings, when a truck crashed into a stack of fuel canisters that he was helping to load onto his LCT for a return to Sicily.
The most memorable item in the records was his enrollment papers, many in his own handwriting, still clearly recognizable to me 83 years after they were written, and more than 50 years after his death. To the question "Why do you want to enroll?" my father answered, simply, "I want to serve my country."
M.S. in Canton suggests that we have a duty to remember. I couldn't agree more. In my father's case, I may be the last living person who has direct memories of him. But his military records, and my own attempt to draft a timeline of his service based on them, mean that my children and grandchildren will have a way of coming to know, and remember, a man they never had a chance to meet.
Readers can find information on how to obtain military records here. There are some restrictions on who can obtain records, but generally any records older than 62 years are public and can be obtained by anyone. I encourage everyone who, like M.S, feels a duty to keep memories alive to consider this route for remembering those who served. (And, let us hope that the U.S. Archives have withstood DOGE's sins enough that they can continue providing this invaluable service.)
Thank you, J.D. This issue came up in the weekend posts, and this helps to reiterate the point. (Z)